After a period of cosmic interference, the dysfunctional ETs of animated Hulu Original series Solar Opposites have settled a fourth season of wildly bizarre, hilarious — and mostly violent — misadventures on terra firma. The new 11-episode season is available to stream now, offering interplanetary maladjustment, more mayhem in the Wall and a brand-new Silvercops adventure.
Produced by 20th Television Animation, the show follows a team of four aliens trying to adjust to life on our planet — anti-Earthers Korvo (recast this season with Dan Stevens) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) and Earth-junk lovers Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack). Fans can also look forward to a fifth season announced at Comic-Con and a Valentine’s Day special slated for next year.
To learn more about what to expect in Solar Opposites S4, we caught up with supervising producer Sydney Ryan , here’s what she had to say:
Animation Magazine: You have been with the show since 2020. How do you think Season 4 compares to the first three seasons?
Sydney Ryan: I’ve actually been working on Solar Opposites since 2018! We worked on the pilot in the first part of the year and started Season 1 in the fall. I love Seasons 1 to 3, but I think season 4 is our strongest and best season yet! The writers brought the family together more this season and I know the fans are going to really enjoy the ridiculous adventures that they get to go on. Korvo and Terry’s love really blooms this season, too, and it’s been nice to watch their relationship grow over the years. They’re teammates, but they’re also partners, and I think they make the sweetest couple.
What do you love most about Solar Opposites? How is it different from other projects you’ve worked on?
Honestly, there are so many things to choose from! I am extremely lucky to work on a show that I love as much as Solar Opposites. I love the Solar family storylines and I think the Pupa is the most adorable creature on TV. Offscreen, working on Solar since the pilot and getting to see how it has developed and grown has been really special and it’s been fun to see the fans reactions to the show over the years. It’s been amazing working with and getting to know our crew members, many of whom have been on the show since the beginning as well.
I’ve never worked on a show where everything has run as well as it does on Solar. I attribute a lot of that to [executive producer & co-creator] Mike McMahan, he has worked so hard to get where he is today, and he is such a kind leader. He listens to the artists and writers, and they know that he has their best interest at heart. We all have the same goal and it’s to make the best show possible. Solar Opposites is a show full of joy and silliness on and off screen, and I am just so honored to a be a part of it.
How do you think Dan Stevens’ new take on Korvo works on the show?
We went through a tedious casting process, but it was all worth it because we could not be more thrilled with how amazing Dan Stevens is on our show. Korvo is tricky to play because he’s abrupt and pissed all the time, but you still love him, and Dan threads that needle so perfectly. He was already big fan of Solar Opposites, so when he came into audition, he had an idea of what he wanted to do with the character, and it worked really well alongside the other characters. If anything, Dan’s dynamic brings the funny, but it also cements that love which is what ties the family together. Dan is absolutely hilarious, a phenomenal actor, and we feel extremely lucky to have him on Solar Opposites.
How did Justin Roiland’s departure impact the production, beyond the voice change?
Honestly, when we found out that Korvo was going to be recast, we had already animated and finished most of the season. It was a huge undertaking, but we were able to cast and record Dan, reanimate scenes, adjust all of Korvo’s lip sync, and deliver the show so that we were still able to air in the summer. We recorded Dan’s lines as Korvo in less than a month and our post-production team did an amazing job getting everything done and delivered.
What are some of the cool storylines or guest voices we can look forward in this season? (The ones you can talk about!)
The writers give The Wall a theme every season, and they had a lot of fun doing a cold war spy story this year. The Wall has been separated into two sides, religious and secular, with a Berlin Wall-in-the-wall that divides The Wall in half. Cherie’s daughter, Pezlie, was taken at the end of last season, so she’s determined to get her back — and we know she won’t go down without a fight! Christina Hendricks is an incredible actor, and she really brings Cherie to life each season. Sutton Foster plays Sister Sisto, the leader of the religious side of the wall, and she was an absolute joy to have on the show!
We’ll also revisit the Silvercops this season and follow Glen, who the Solars shot into space in Season 3. The Silvercops are trying to frame him for murder, and he’s naked and terrified while on the run on an alien planet. A lot of times, we’ll cast actors because we’re fans of certain shows, so like recording with Kieran Culkin (Glen) the day after an episode of Succession airs is always super cool.
There are a lot of fun stories this season and we got to work with a lot of great actors: Jerry O’Connell plays himself and he was such a nice person! We love The Other Two and we had a lot of fun having Heléne Yorke on the show. Josh Gad plays a talking Pinecone from The Wooden City, Randall Park is Terry and Korvo’s boss at their office job — I could go on and on, but we’ll leave some for you to discover on your own.
What were the animated shows or movies that made a big impact on you growing up?
I grew up loving animated shows and movies! I would have to say the show that made the biggest impact on me would have to be The Simpsons. I loved shows like Animaniacs, Rocco’s Modern Life, Hey Arnold, Rugrats, Doug, Futurama and South Park, but there was and is something so special about The Simpsons. I feel like you can always count on The Simpsons to be hilarious, but it also has that bit of heart that pulls it all together. It’s the perfect family show … I loved it when I was a kid and I still love it as an adult.
My mentor, J. Michael Mendel, was a producer on The Simpsons for a long time, so it kind of brings everything full circle that those episodes that he produced are what had such a big impact on me when I was growing up. Mendel was the producer on Solar Opposites as well when it started, and I feel like I’m following in his footsteps by getting to be the producer on Solar, too.
What is the most memorable response you get when people realize you work on Solar Opposites?
I was in Seattle visiting family and my cousin was asking all about the shows that I’ve worked on, and we were talking about Hulu. This college kid overhears and says that he loves Hulu and animated shows. Ten minutes later, he comes back and asks, “Do you work on Solar Opposites?” When I said yes, he looked at me with big eyes and said, “Solar Opposites is my favorite show! Are you the Sydney from the Post-it note?!” (Mike had a joke in Season 2 where he asked me for a higher budget on a Post-it note onscreen, and then the episode just cuts to the end of an action scene that we didn’t do, haha!)
This kid was so excited and just raved about how much he loves Solar. It was really sweet and was my favorite response from someone. It was one of my favorite jokes in that episode and I’m happy that fans loved it as much as I did.
Solar Opposites Seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Hulu. You can find the show and other animated offerings in the new Hulu Animayhem hub.
